Photocatalytic and biological oxidation treatment of real textile wastewater
Teklit Gebregiorgis Ambaye, Kiros Hagos
Abstract
Abstract In this study, the discoloration of wastewater containing azo dyes by chemical oxidation process combined with a biological treatment was evaluated and applied to real textile wastewater generated from one Ethiopian industrial site. The use of TiO 2 as photocatalyst and the effect of the addition of H 2 O 2 on color removal was first investigated. Photocatalysis was followed by aerobic biological treatment, and their combination resulted in a high extent of color removal (93.3%) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) reduction (90.4%). This was reached without pH correction and with low energy consumption compared to the implementation of AOPs alone. This study performed with real textile wastewater allows the direct extrapolation of the data for the design of a cost-effective and applicable treatment procedure at a pilot scale. Graphic abstract